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Confusion on selling honey in jars, weight vs. volume, pricing, etc.

My dad has a friend who wants to buy some of my honey for resale. I sold some to him before and there was a lot of confusion in my mind that created a lot of tension in the family, and I don't want a repeat of that. But I think it's happening again.

He was re-selling the honey in quart jars, which I thought would come out to two pounds. Later, after I pre-poured the honey into the quart jars, I realized that there was more than two pounds by weight in there. I didn't raise a stink about that since that was on me. But in subsequent deals, I want it made clear that I am selling by the pound. I would like to charge him $3.50-4.50/lb. Does that seem fair? He could mark it up to $5.00/lb and make about a 50 percent profit. I don't want to come across as the bad guy here, which is the way it was going the last time I discussed this with my dad.

I thought the industry standard was to sell by weight, correct? Am I doing something wrong here? I really don't want a repeat of all the tension over what should be a nice Christmas holiday. I just want to make a fair deal and have everyone understand what amount is being sold here at what price. Win/win for everyone.

One problem seems to be my dad's insistence on getting a quote from me in quarts even though I left him a note quoting my proposed price in lbs., he again mentioned quarts right after I wrote that! The guy can sell in whatever units he likes, that's his concern - I would like to sell by the pound. So am I right in doing that or am I the devil? lol

I buy honey around here at $7 in a pint jar, it says 22 oz, I also buy it in quart jars for $12.95, it says 44 oz. That is the way it is also labeled at the co-op, but how you sell it to that person I do not think would make any difference as long as both of you are happy. He is not putting your name on it, is he? If he wants it as the person above said, by the quart, give him your quart price. It may sell for more where you are, even here some people want and get $15 a quart. I just don't buy from them.

Explain to him that quart canning jars are calibrated in "fluid" ounces using the unit weight of water which is 8.33 lbs per gallon. One pound of water will fill the jar to 16 ounces. A full quart jar of water, 32 ounces, weighs about 2 pounds.

Honey is much heavier than water and has a different unit weight. Since it is heavier, one "pound" of honey will fill your quart jar only to 10.67 ounces. Filling it completely full will give you 32 fluid ounces, or 3 pounds. When measuring honey in fluid ounce containers I usually round up to 11 fl oz / lb. My labels are all marked in "Net Wt. - lbs."

By the way, I think your price is fair. Check at your local stores and see what the retail prices are, they will probably be in the $4 - $5.00 range per pound. Someone with a bit of sales skills will easily get $5.00 or more for good local honey.

I think you have to answer the question that is being asked. I label my honey by weight (as legally required), but when a customer asks "how much?" I answer "$10 per pint." If I were to give him a price per pound, most would have no idea how much honey they were getting. If your customer wants to pay according to volume, sell it to him that way. Just keep your records by weight (or both) since that is what the industry is interested in.

Dr Wax..Honey is sold by weight not by fluid oz. The p-gravity of honey is 1.36 & P-gravity of water is 1 so to get it right you x container oz by 1.36 = honey weight; example a Pint jar or 16 oz X 1.36 = 22 oz honey. A # of honey is = to 12 fluid oz. The name of the company,address, or if not a company your name, address, and phone # needs to on jar to be leg. By the way you have to have # & oz Or oz and gr. on the label.... 22oz. 454gr.

Dr Wax..Honey is sold by weight not by fluid oz. The p-gravity of honey is 1.36 & P-gravity of water is 1 so to get it right you x container oz by 1.36 = honey weight; example a Pint jar or 16 oz X 1.36 = 22 oz honey. A # of honey is = to 12 fluid oz. The name of the company,address, or if not a company your name, address, and phone # needs to on jar to be leg. By the way you have to have # & oz Or oz and gr. on the label.... 22oz. 454gr.

Sorry about the error on the pacific gravity of honey; it is 1.42 (the numbers still work.)

So, do you say the same thing about a quart jar? "$10.00 per pint"? And then let them do the math? Or do you say "$10.00 per jar and $20.00 per jar for the larger one."?

Yes. All of my honey is sold to individuals through word of mouth, so the real question they are asking is "how much (volume) am I getting. My labels still show weight. If someone wanted to buy a case of quarts, I would be willing to make them a deal.

Price it by the pound, sell it by the container - e.g. $10 a pint, $18 a quart. if in regular honey jars, price the jar according to the price per pound you want. You know what you're doing, it isn't unethical, and it keeps the customer happy... they're buying a jar of honey. IF they ask about weight, you can explain it to them. Most won't ask. They're just happy to get a jar of great honey!
Regards,
Steven

"If all you have is a hammer, the whole world is a nail." - A.H. Maslow

My honey is probably running on the high side on moisture content - 17.5 - 18%. Need to get my refractometer re-calibrated. Someone with a lower % moisture in their honey will get a little more weight per jar.